Aids Conference HighLights. Part 2
Description
This article is from the Health Articles series.
Aids Conference HighLights. Part 2
Cytokine Regulation: A Different Approach to Controlling HIV
Recent advances in therapies aimed at reducing the level of HIV virus in the body have not shed light on why the virus acts so differently from one HIV-infected individual to another. This research looked to factors within the body that could either encourage or inhibit HIV progress in order to find other approaches to controlling the disease. Cytokines are among the proteins produced by white blood cells that act as chemical messengers between cells and can stimulate or inhibit the growth and activity of various immune cells. Cytokine action tightly controls the rate at which HIV progresses. This presentation explains recent discoveries in this area that are now being translated into new potential therapies for HIV.
Quality of Life Improves With Triple Combination Therapy
In the excitement around the development of protease inhibitors and the new goal of complete suppression of viral replication, the quality of life experienced by patients taking the new drugs must receive due consideration. This is especially important at this stage, when clinical outcomes such as survival are not yet available. As part of the study comparing triple drug therapy with saquinavir, zalcitabine and AZT against two dual regimens, a quality of life assessment was undertaken by study participants. Questionnaires at study entry and at 20 weeks follow-up were completed and ended up showing greater improvements in quality of life among those on the triple drug regimen than on either of the dual drug regimens. These results enhance the optimism generated by virologic and immunologic improvements with this regimen.Can Vitamins Slow the Progress of AIDS?
Little was known about the effect of vitamin deficiencies and vitamin supplements on AIDS progression before a 10-year multicentre study was carried out in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The results showed a strong association between high levels of Vitamin B12, high CD4 counts, and longer survival. Patients with low serum levels of the vitamin were twice as likely to progress to AIDS as those whose levels were considered adequate. A weaker correlation was found between Vitamin E concentrations and improved survival, though particularly large quantities appeared to be necessary to produce an effect. Vitamin B6, A and folate appeared to be unrelated to AIDS progression. Both Vitamin B12 and Vitamin E serum levels can be increased with supplements.Early Test Results Will Help Predict the Risk of AIDS and the Risk of Death for HIV-Positive People
Until now, means of predicting how fast an HIV-positive individual will develop AIDS, or die as a result of AIDS, have been less than satisfactory. This information is important not only in giving people a reasonably accurate prognosis, but also helping them to make treatment decisions. The Multicentre AIDS Cohort Study, commonly known as MAC, has followed some 5,000 men since 1985. This analysis looked at a subset of these men, who had early results of various tests available, as well as stored plasma samples on which to perform recently developed tests such as HIV-RNA. This data allowed researchers to determine which markers were most significant and use them to construct a "regression tree" on which specific test results could be plotted to provide an accurate prognosis for individual patients. CD4 cell count and baseline HIV-RNA levels together proved the most important predictors of disease progression and death.
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